A new 15-minute film shining a light on some of the County’s brightest up and coming artists will debut at the Haliburton Highlands Museum March 25 and 26.
Greg Sadlier and Darian Maddock of local art group Camexicanus have been working on the project for close to a year. Titled Creative by Nature, they delve into the lives of seven artists across various modes who each got their start in the Highlands.
“The idea was to go out into our community and tell a story about art and the people that make it,” Sadlier said.
Maddock added, “For me, it was about putting a spotlight on youth art, because there’s a lot going on here in Haliburton County. With the pandemic, a lot of this stuff has been put on the backburner. People haven’t been able to get out, see things and be exposed to art. So, we wanted to do that, get out there and show people that there is good, local, young artists and talent in this community.”
Among those featured in the movie is acrylic painter Sophie Creelman, performing artist Brooklyn Sidsworth, film director Kate Campbell, multi-disciplinary artist Scott Walling and aspiring cinematographer Rowan Tofflemire.
Several of the artists will be in attendance at the museum on back-to-back nights this weekend as Camexicanus hosts its first event in more than two years. There will be live music, dance, visual art, films and the announcement of the group’s 2022 season program. The event begins at 7 p.m. and admission is by donation.
“This will be a great family event. It’s something that people of all ages can enjoy,” Sadlier said. “We’re very proud of the movie. It’ll be a bit of a love letter, like a letter of gratitude to the arts and the artist community in Haliburton for getting through these past couple of years, because it has been really tough.”
Camexicanus has been going strong in Haliburton County since relocating to the community in 2019. The brainchild of Sadlier and his partner, Hannah, the nonprofit was intended to introduce music into the lives of impoverished youth in Mexico. Over the years, it has evolved and today offers programming for hundreds of kids across the continent.
A second home base has been established in Wawa, a rural community located approximately 530 kilometres west of Sudbury. Sadlier and Maddock produced a second film, also titled Creative by Nature, featuring several Wawa-based artists. The pair visited the community earlier this month to air the movie.
Looking ahead to the summer, Sadlier said he’s excited to bring back day camps and Camexicanus’ popular music program. He’s also hoping to kickstart the organization’s summer exchange program, bringing in several students from Mexico.
“We’ve really grown in Haliburton over the past few years. We were able to do a lot of really cool things when we moved things up here, and it’s going to be great to get things going again,” Sadlier said. “This is such a passion project. Seeing the difference our programming has made, it’s been a great experience so far.”
